Case History: Miguel Ángel Zenón
On 21 August 2015, human rights defender Miguel Ángel Zenón was finally able to enter his home four days after it had been broken into by force, which caused damage to the main entrance. Identification and various documents containing information on cases the human rights defender has been working on had been taken.
Miguel Ángel Zenón has been a human rights defender for 25 years, and was a founding member of the Central Union of Workers (Central Unitaria de Trabajadores) and the National Organisation of Popular Power (Organización Nacional del Poder Popular - ONPP). Additionally, he has worked with communities from San Pedro Atlapulco, San Salvador Atenco, as well as from Oaxaca,Chiapas and, most recently, the Otomí indigenous community from San Francisco Xochicuautla, in the defence of their territories. Furthermore, he has advocated for the release of political prisoners in the entire country.
On 21 August 2015, human rights defender Miguel Ángel Zenón was finally able to enter his home four days after it had been broken into by force, which caused damage to the main entrance. Identification and various documents containing information on cases the human rights defender has been working on had been taken.
On 17 August 2015, while Miguel Ángel Zenón was accompanying members of the San Francisco Xochicuautla community, he received a phone call from neighbours who informed him that two members of the anti-riot police force were outside his house guarding the door. They further informed him that the light was on inside his home but that there did not seem to be anybody inside. On 20 August 2015, when he returned home, he noticed that at least two locks had been forced and that the door had been damaged to such an extent that it could not be opened. On 21 August 2015, when he was once again able to enter his home, he observed that his house had been thoroughly searched, and documents relating to cases he has worked on over the years had been taken, as had his identification documents. The human rights defender has reported the break-in to the authorities and an investigation has begun under the code FCH/CUH-5/T2/05741/15-08.
Miguel Ángel Zenón has recently assisted theindigenous Otomí community of San Francisco Xochicuautla in the defence of its territory against the proposed construction of a motorway which, if built, would cut directly through their ancestral lands and sacred sites. The community contends that their right to free, prior and informed consent has been denied. From 18 June to 7 July 2015, the community peacefully resisted an attempt to construct the motorway, and allege that members of the company “Autovan SA de CV” were aided in their attempts to construct the motorway by members of the state police.
